21, Jan, 2014 10:30-11:30 (1 hour)
ISEP-IPP, Porto, Portugal

ABSTRACT:
Peak energy consumption has impact on upfront capital costs and hence on energy tariffs. Reducing the size of the peaks has been recognized as an important consideration in the design of efficient demand-response systems. A substantial fraction of the energy demand of buildings comes from the Thermostatically Controlled Electrical Devices (TCED) viz., air-conditioners (ACs), refrigerators and room-heaters, which do not need human interaction for their continuous operations. So long as desirable temperature levels, referred to as thermal comfort-bands, are maintained by such background loads, users will not be concerned about when they perform their assigned functions. i.e., when they consume the energy required to function. This talk will address the problem of maintaining thermal comfort-bands associated with background loads under Peak energy consumption constraint. Thermal Comfort Band Maintenance (TCBM), a new algorithm for scheduling such background loads under peak power constraint will be discussed. In addition, how TCBM can adapt to changes in ambient parameters and provide the basis for efficient demand-response systems will also be discussed.